21 June 2006

How Small is Swansea?

When we started our search for a house, we quickly eliminated anything not within walking distance of the University, and we ruled out the student are right next to the University. That narrows one's universe significantly. Thus, I guess what happened this afternoon shouldn't be surprising.

During our search we looked at about 20 houses, and the very first one we saw was certainly close to the top of the list. Indeed, we made not one but two offers on this house; both were summarily rejected, with no counteroffers. (As a supreme negotiater, I was not at all chagrined at being turned down, but I did take some offence at the lack of a counteroffer.)

We eventually had an offer accepted on a different house, one that was more our size, closer to our price range, and very likely to be a much safer financial investment in the long term. We then gave notice to the estate agents from whom we rent our flat, and they contacted us this week to arrange a viewing today. Guess who walked in the door?

Yes, that's right: the owners of that first house we saw, the ones who turned down our offers. How small? Quite.